Agar sees BBL as perfect prep for bigger Test

Ashton Agar might have made just the solitary first-class appearance over the past four months, but he believes that his more recent outings in the KFC Big Bash League have provided ideal preparation for a potential Test call-up.

Agar was yesterday added to Australia’s now 14-man squad for the final Magellan Ashes Test that begins at the SCG on Thursday, and travelled to Sydney with the expanded touring party from Melbourne this morning.

The 24-year-old, whose four Tests to date have been offshore in England (in 2013) and Bangladesh (earlier this year), claims he has received no indication from Bupa Support Team men’s coach and national selector Darren Lehmann about his chances of making his home soil Test debut next week.

But if the pitch conditions at the SCG, which remain a mystery given there has been no first-class matches played on the freshly re-laid surface this summer, are deemed suitable for Australia to field a dual spin attack then the left-armer reckons he’s ready to go.

Even though his only experience bowling with a red ball since the second Test against Bangladesh at Chittagong last September was on the ‘highway to heartbreak’, also known as the MCG pitch which was heavily criticised in the wake of yesterday’s drawn finish to the fourth Ashes Test.

That JLT Sheffield Shield game between Western Australia and Victoria – which also ended in a bat-dominated draw – marked Agar’s return to first-class cricket having fractured his right (non-bowling hand) little finger in a fielding mishap during Australia’s ODI tour to India three months ago.

Agar sent down 50 overs on the infamously unresponsive MCG track in that game for a return of 4-119 as Victoria piled on 450 at barely three runs per over.

But since then the 24-year-old has been bowling exclusively with a white ball in the 20-over format which, despite holding only the vaguest resemblance to the five-day version, he believes has held him in good stead should the SCG pitch show indications it will be conducive to finger spin.

In which case Australia are expected to cull one of the incumbent seamers (Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins or Jackson Bird) in keeping with the combinations employed in recent Test matches on the historically spin-friendly Sydney track.

“I think the biggest advantage of the BBL is the pressure and the crowds,” Agar said today, having returned aggregate figures of 1-59 from 12 overs (economy rate 4.92) in three games for the top-of-the-table Perth Scorchers so far in BBL|07.

“You’ve got batters trying to take you down, you have to bowl really well and you have to have good control over your length and variations.

“I actually think it’s really good preparation for a Test match.

“That may sound funny but there are certain things that, when you step into a Test environment, are really similar between BBL and Test cricket.”

Agar, whose four Tests to date have yielded nine wickets at 45.55 and that famous 98 batting at number 11 in his debut match at Trent Bridge in 2013, added that it’s not only the environment and the requirements in BBL that hold some similarity to Test conditions.

He noted that there is not a marked change in the pace or the approach that he takes to his bowling whether with red ball or white, save for the fact that he rolls through his variations with a bit more frequency in the 20-over version.

Agar has worked on those differing deliveries as well as on his stock ball, which spins away from right-handed batters, with Nathan Lyon’s bowling mentor John Davison as well as former India ODI left-arm orthodox bowler Sridharan Sriram, who is routinely part of Australia’s set-up for matches in Asia.

Consequently, even though he remains a novice in the art of spin bowling – an artform that exponents rarely fully master before reaching age30 – Agar believes he is a vastly more complete and confident player than when he made his Test debut as a teenager.

And some of the increased knowledge and nuance he has gleaned across the intervening four and half years has come through his involvement in white-ball cricket, as a member of Australia teams in 50-over and T20 events.

“It’s not a lot different, really,” Agar said when asked if his approach to bowling with a red ball bore any similarities to his limited-overs strategies.

“It just all depends on who you’re bowling to and the game situation, I guess you bowl a few more standard off-spinners in a Test match.

“But you still have to think on your feet and mix it up and try and get some wickets.

“It’s more just understanding my basics and how to consistently bowl my best ball, which is what you have to do in Test cricket.

“You have to be consistent, and consistently hit that length and challenge the batter’s forward defence.

“So that’s what I’ve tried to work on.”

2017-18 International Fixtures

Magellan Ashes Series

Australia Test squad: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, Mitchell Marsh, Tim Paine (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Jackson Bird.

England Test squad: Joe Root (c), James Anderson (vc), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Gary Ballance, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Mason Crane, Tom Curran, Ben Foakes, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ben Stokes, Mark Stoneman, James Vince, Chris Woakes.

First Test Australia won by 10 wickets. Scorecard

Second Test Australia won by 120 runs (Day-Night). Scorecard

Third Test Australia won by an innings and 41 runs. Scorecard

Fourth Test Match drawn. Tickets

Fifth Test SCG, January 4-8 (Pink Test). Scorecard

Gillette ODI Series v England

First ODI MCG, January 14. Tickets

Second ODI Gabba, January 19. Tickets

Third ODI SCG, January 21. Tickets

Fourth ODI Adelaide Oval, January 26. Tickets

Fifth ODI Perth Stadium, January 28. Tickets

Prime Minister's XI

PM's XI v England Manuka Oval, February 2. Tickets

Gillette T20 trans-Tasman Tri-Series

First T20I Australia v NZ, SCG, February 3. Tickets

Second T20I – Australia v England, Blundstone Arena, February 7. Tickets

Third T20I – Australia v England, MCG, February 10. Tickets

Fourth T20I – NZ v England, Wellington, February 14

Fifth T20I – NZ v Australia, Eden Park, February 16

Sixth T20I – NZ v England, Seddon Park, February 18

Final – TBC, Eden Park, February 21